"innocence project ." innocence project . innocence project . 21 Nov 2008 <http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/425.php>.

Roy Brown
Became a suspect of a murder of a social worker
The victim had numerous amounts of bite marks all over his body
The victim’s farmhouse had also been set on fire
Brown was convicted of murder
Before he went to jail he sent a letter to the victims house, he knew that he had done it
But a day before the letter got there the boyfriend had committed suicide
Later on they tested six more spots and found brown not guilty

"Willie Jackson." Innocence Project. Innocence Project. 21 Nov 2008 http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/182.php.

Willie Jackson
  • accused of rape.
  • wrongfully convicted
  • DNA testing was requested to be redone.
  • DNA was not not a match to willie Jackson.
  • DNA matched to his brother.
  • spent 17 years in prison befroe finding evidence that he was not guilty.
  • all charges were dropped. ----
"Kirk Bloodsworth." Innocence Project. Innocence Project. 21 Nov 2008 <http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/54.php>.

Kirk Bloodsworth


  • Convicted of first degree murder
  • Second conviction rape
  • Third conviction of sexual assault
  • Sentenced to death
  • First spent 8 years in prison
  • There was an eyewitness misidentification
  • Found the real perpetrator.






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http://www.citynews.ca/images/2007-01/jan3007-truscottold.jpghttp://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/marshall_simon.jpg
  1. Even a future Nobel Peace Prize Winner was wrongfully convicted.
  2. Nelson Mandela was arrested and jailed by the South African Government and accused of treason. He spent 236,520 hours in jail (27 years).
  3. After his release he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with Frederik Willem de Klerk for their work towards the abolishment of apartheid and in 1994 Mandela became the first democratically elected President of South Africa.

"Prison Statistics." Bureau of Justice Statistics. 02 Oct 2008. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. 13 Nov 2008 http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm.

  • 2,299,116 prisoners were held in U.S. prisons EM
    • Increase of 1.8% EM
  • 633,700 state prisoners are serving time for a violent offense out of the 1,237,600 prisoners EM
  • The nation’s prisons held approximately 744,200 fathers and 65,600 mothers at midyear 2007. EM
  • In 2002 the suicide rate in local jails (47 per 100,000 inmates) was over 3 times the rate in State prisons (14 per 100,000 inmates). EM
  • Homicide rates were similar in local jails (3 per 100,000) and State prisons (4 per 100,000). EM


"High-profile cases where the courts got it wrong." CBC News. July 7 2008. CBC News. 13 Nov 2008 <http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/wrongfullyconvicted/#Scene_1>.


  • Simon Marshall- 6 years in prison kh
  • He didn’t commit kh
  • Charged for sexual assault kh
  • Mentally handicapped when he confessed to crimes kh
  • As soon has he got out he got arrested for 3 more counts of sexual assault kh
  • He confessed but DNA didn’t match kh
  • Using the same DNA evidence the police found that he had not committed the crimes he had already served for kh
  • DNA from first case was never brought into trial kh



Steven Truscott


  • Sentenced to be hanged at 14 for schoolmates murder kh
  • Spent 4 months until death sentence was changed to life imprisonment kh
  • Disappeared from existence in southern Ontario City. kh
  • 48 years later(2007) overturned conviction and acquitted him. kh
  • Case was declared “A miscarriage of justice” that “must be quashed” (overturned) kh
  • Paid $6.5 million for this ideal. Kh ----



"High-profile cases where the courts got it wrong." CBC News. July 7 2008. CBC News. 13 Nov 2008 <http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/wrongfullyconvicted/#Scene_1>.

David Milgaard

  • Sentenced in 1970 kl
  • Life imprisonment for muder of Gail Miller kl
  • 23 years in prison kl
  • Conviction was set aside in 1992 by supreme court of Canada kl
  • Awarded $10 million for wrongful conviction. kl

Anthony Hanemaayer
  • 1987 charger with assault for connection with a knifepoint attack on a 15 year old girl kl
  • Pleaded guilty during trial for a deal 2 years less in jail. kl
  • Accepted plea bargain from the advice of his lawyer at the time when he warned he could get a long sentence. kl
  • Acquitted on june 25, 2008. kl
Erin Walsh
  • Took one hour to find walsh guilty of second degree murder. Kl
  • Received life with no parole before 10 years. kl
  • Review of murder after new evidence suggesting a miscarriage of justice. Kl
  • Overturned conviction. Kl



"Inncoence Project ". 11/13/08 <http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/187.php
Larry Johnson
1) C
onvicted of Rape, Sodomy, First Degree Robbery, Kidnapping -KJS
2) Convicted in August 1984 - KJS

3)Convicted over a eyewitness
4)gave a very rash description
5)He was convicted because the description the victim had described - KJS
6)Johnson contacted I.P. in 1995 - KJS
7)11 years of being in jail - KJS
8)Few pieces of evidence existed at the time,
9)none proved that Johnson had committed the crime – KJS
10)No fingerprints were found at the scene - KJS
11)only the few pieces of evidence and the description.
12) The I.P. filed a civil rights suit
13) seeking access to biological evidence - KJS
14)The prosecution wouldn’t release the evidence – KJS
15) In Feb. 2001 the Supreme Court made a rule (effective in 9/1/01) - KJS
16)It allowed the filing the seek DNA testing – KJS
17)Testing began in 2002 – KJS
18)The DNA results had excluded Larry Johnson as the perpetrator – KJS
19)Johnson was released on July 30 2002 - KJS
20)He served 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit – KJS

"Bruce Godchalk." "The Innocence Project". 14 Nov 2008 <http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/154.php >.

1)Bruce Godschalk - KJS
2) Convicted of 2 counts of forcible rape
3)and 2 counts of burglary -KJS
4) Convicted in 1987 - KJS
5)Sentenced 10-20 years in prison - KJS
6)Godschalk conviction was based on the identification the eyewitness gave –KJS
7) He gave a confession
8)it was proven to be false - KJS
9)Only one of the victims could indentify Godschalk as the perpetrator – KJS
10) He contacted the I.P. in 1995
11) after his own motion of DNA testing was denied - KJS
12)The I.P. tired for years to get the copy of the confession tape - KJS
13) The prosecutors didn’t give the tape until 1999 - KJS
14) In Nov. of 2000 I.P. filed a section 1983 civil rights complaint
15)seeking evidence -KJS
16) Federal District Court granted access to the evidence - KJS
17) The carpet sample from the crime scene resurfaced in October 2001 - KJS
18) The evidence was tested in Forensic Science Associates in Jan. 2002 - KJS
19) Profiles were obtained from the evidence - KJS
20) The same perpetrator committed both crimes - KJS
21)Bruce Godschalk was excluded - KJS
22) On February, 14 2002 Godschalk was released from prison - KJS
23)Spent 15 years in prison - KJS
24)7 of the years he spent fighting for DNA testing -KJS


Sherrer, Hans. "Wrongly Convicted Database Index." 13 Nov 2008 http://forejustice.org/db/location/innocents_l.html.
Willie Crutcher
  • In 1920 Willie Crutcher was sentenced to life for first degree prison EM
  • He died in prison prior to his exoneration EM
  • He was exonerated after his death because the actual culprit was identified EM
  • The convictions were based on perjured testimony EM
James Ochoa
  • James Ochoa was sentenced to 2 years in jail for robbery and carjacking (2005) EM
  • He was released in 2006 EM
  • Ochoa’s DNA did not match the DNA at the scene EM
  • He changed his plea from not guilty to guilty after Superior Court Judge Robert F. Fitzgerald threatened him with life in prison but told him he would only be sentenced to two years in prison if he pled guilty EM
  • James Ochoa was released after DNA recovered from the crime scene was matched to another man EM
  • The other man admitted he committed the crime Ochoa had been convicted of committing EM
  • Ochoa was wrongly imprisoned for 17 months EM
  • He was awarded $31,700 ($100 per day for 317 days of wrongful imprisonment after his conviction.) EM
  • Settled his federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Buena Park for $550,000. EM
  • total compensation will be $581,700 EM


"The Innocents Database." Innocents Database. 14 Nov 2008 <http://forejustice.org/search_idb.htm>.
  • Off one website 2,539 people were listed as wrongfully convicted. KL
  • Out of the 2,539, 182 people were executed KL
  • 498 sentenced to death KL
  • 543 sentenced for life in prison KL
  • 1,124 of the people were convicted of murder and served an average of 9 years KL
  • 371 of them were found guilty of rape and served 10 years in average in prison KL
  • 18 died in prison after being there for 10 years. KL
  • 2,357 of them were judicially exonerated or pardoned KL

"Kerry Max Cook." America's Wrongfully Convicted. 14 Nov 2008 <http://www.americaswrongfullyconvicted.com/kerry_max_cook.htm>.
Kerry Max Cook
  • Sentenced to death for the murder of Linda Jo Edwards. KL\
  • Arrested in a ‘gay bar” being called a homosexual who hate women KL
· Found a fingerprint on Edwards glass door, neighbor testified that she saw him in her apartment around the time of death KL
· Evidence was discredited over the fingerprint being there froma different time, and the neighbor originally saw Edwards’ professor and not him. KL
· Threw out the conviction KL
· Wrote a book on wrongful imprisonment after he married his fiancé who waited for him to come out of jail. KL

Tsai , Michelle. "18 Years in Prison? Priceless.." Slate. 18 May 2007. Slate Newspapers. 14 Nov 2008 <http://www.slate.com/id/2166483/>.


· States with statutory rewards, the payout doesn’t really have anything to do with the crime. KL
· Neither does the length of time served for the wrongful imprisonment. KL
· A man served 4 years and a woman served 19 and both got the same amount of money. KL



Nelson Mandela The Nobel Peace Prize 1993." Nobelprize.org. 30 May 2008. Nobel Founations. 14 Nov 2008 http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1993/mandela-faq.html.

Nelson Mandela
  • Arrested and jailed by the South African Government EM
  • Accused of treason because of ties with ANC EM
    • ANC challenged the ruling party’s apartheid policies EM
    • Formed a the military wing of ANC EM
      • Went underground because of ban in 1960 EM
  • Treason trial was from 1956-1961 and was acquitted in 1961 EM
  • Arrested in 1962 and sentenced five years in prison EM
  • When many ANC leaders were arrested for plotting to overthrow the government by violence Mandela was brought to stand trial as well EM
  • Mandela was one of the 8 that were sent to life imprisonment EM
  • Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 with Frederik Willem de Klerk “for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa.” EM
  • In 1994 Mandela became the first democratically elected President of South Africa EM

  • Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, his support for reconciliation and negotiation helped lead the transition to multi-racial democracy in South Africa.
    ----
    Wrongfully convicted man awarded $450K." 2006. Assosicated Press. 14 Nov 2008 http://www.boston.com/.
    1. Arthur Mumphrey convicted for raping a 13 year old girl KH
    2. He was sentenced to be in prison for 35 years KH
    3. His lawyer found DNA evidence that it was not him and he didn’t have to serve KH
    4. Gov. Rick Perry cleared his record making him eligible for compensation KH
    5. He got $450K for his release KH


    Washington , Michelle. "Wrongful imprisonment takes away years and family." 2004. 14 Nov 2008 http://www.truthinjustice.org/whitfield.htm.
  1. Arthur Lee Whitfield is sent to prison for raping two women in 1981 KH
  2. He was released on August 23 2004 KH
  3. He served 22 years out of a 63 year sentence KH
  4. The DNA didn’t match Whitfield’s and his attorney demanded his release KH
  5. When he got out his niece was so happy she hadn’t seen him in 16 years KH


Hoel, Adrian. "Compensation for wrongful conviction." Australian Government Australian Institute of Criminology. 21 May 2008. Australian Institute of Criminology . 14 Nov 2008 http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi2/tandi356t.html.

Effects of wrongful convictions

· people may experience psychiatric effects from the conviction and subsequent imprisonment EM

  • emotional effects are also experienced.

· undergo enduring personality changes similar to that experienced by people suffering a catastrophic experience EM

· often exhibit serious psychiatric morbidity

  • display symptoms of disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder EM

· may suffer ongoing emotional effects from the conviction and the disengagement from society EM

· Fear of physical and/or sexual assault may cause some people to develop physically aggressive/intimidating character traits EM

  • as a coping mechanism EM

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  • often exhibit feelings of bitterness, loss, threat, paranoia and hopelessness EM
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· may lose simple technical proficiencies, as well as basic emotional coping skills,

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  • makes it very difficult for them to adapt to normal life and maintain relationships with family and friends EM
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· One study found that a majority of wrongfully convicted males could not live with previous partners

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  • even where the partner supported them throughout the ordeal of the wrongful conviction they could still nit live with them EM
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· Despite their release, they may continue to be stigmatized by sections of the public,

==

  • this also includes victims of the crimes for which they were convicted EM
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· In prison when inducted into the institutions involves stripping away the prisoner's former identity EM

o They are labeled as simply “a prisoner” or “an offender”

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  • also may extend to specific identities such as “a rapist” or “a murderer” EM
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o Acceptance comes at the cost of the persons pysci or their own opinion of themselves EM

§ They believe they did commit the crime after a while EM

o rejection involves considerable costs in both assimilating to the prison environment as well as qualifying for privileges EM

· constant declarations of innocence are seen by the prison authorities as evidence of a lack of rehabilitation(not accepting their crime as wrong type thing) EM

o impairs a prisoner's chances of parole or other privileges EM

· some offenders suffer greater or lesser degrees in respect to the crime then were convicted of:

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  • sex offenders tend to be treated with disdain by prisoners and prison administrators,
  • murderers may be accorded a measure of respect EM
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o respect may be a valuable asset in surviving EM

o protesting innocence may not be in one's best interests EM

· the possibility of their innocence being discovered also means that prisoners lack certainty of a release date EM

· suffer the physical effects of a confined environment,

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  • suffer physical and sexual assault whilst incarcerated EM
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"Regional Correctional Facilities in Operation and Per Diem." 07 Dec 2004. Joint Legislation Committee on Performance Evaultation and Expenditure Review. 17 Nov 2008 <http://www.peer.state.ms.us/reports/rpt472.pdf>.

1. $25.74 avg per inmate in Mississippi EM
2.